The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that it was willing to include Urdu as a medium to conduct the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) from the academic session of 2018-19. Considering a submission by the centre, the court said that it was not opposed to the move.

“The exam for this academic session is already over. We can’t put the clock back…The appeal is disposed of,” a bench, comprising of Justices Dipak Misra and A M Khanwilkar, said. Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar appeared for the centre seeking to conduct the medical entrance in Urdu.

Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) filed an affidavit through its national secretary Thouseef Ahamad upon which the submission referred. The court had earlier said that it was not feasible to include Urdu as a medium in the current academic year.

The medical entrance was conducted this year in ten languages including Hindi, Oriya, English, Gujarati, Assamese, Marathi, Bengali, Telegu, Tamil and Kannada. Prior to this, the apex body sought the response of the Medical Council of India (MCI), the Centre, the Dental Council Of India and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on NEET being conducted in Urdu.